In an exciting showdown on the opening night of the 2026 Men’s NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships, the Arizona State Sun Devils pulled out their first-ever victory in the 200 medley relay, narrowly missing the NCAA and U.S. Open Records in the process.
The Sun Devils won the event in a time of 1:20.07, putting them just four one-hundredths shy of the all-time record of 1:20.03, set by Florida at last month’s SEC Championships.
Arizona State’s quartet featured Adam Chaney (20.35), Andy Dobrzanski (23.04), Ilya Kharun (18.70) and Jonny Kulow (17.98). Kharun’s fly split marked the second-fastest of all-time.
Split Comparison
| Florida, 2026 SECs | Arizona State, 2026 NCAAs |
| Jonny Marshall – 20.52 | Adam Chaney – 20.35 |
| Koen de Groot – 22.61 | Andy Dobrzanski – 23.04 |
| Scotty Buff – 19.32 | Ilya Kharun – 18.70 |
| Josh Liendo – 17.58 | Jonny Kulow – 17.98 |
| 1:20.03 | 1:20.07 |
Although Chaney, Dobrzanski and Kulow are Americans, and Kharun announced he was changing his sporting citizenship to the U.S. from Canada earlier this year, the relay was not eligible to break the American Record due to Kharun still being in his waiting period before he can officially represent the U.S. competitively.
Despite being ineligible to break it, Arizona State was nearly a full second under the current American Record of 1:20.92, set last year by Indiana.
In the race on Wednesday night, Texas led the field through the last exchange, and then on the anchor leg, Kulow pulled even with Longhorn anchor Garret Gould at the final turn, and then despite Florida freestyler Josh Liendo coming home fast, Kulow held on to give ASU the victory.
RACE VIDEO
Courtesy: NCAA Championships on YouTube
Men’s 200 Medley Relay – Top 8:
- Arizona State (Chaney, Dobrzanski, Kharun, Kulow) — 1:20.07
- Florida (Marshall, de Groot, Buff, Liendo) — 1:20.16
- Texas (Modglin, Germonprez, Kos, Gould) — 1:20.46
- Indiana — 1:21.12
- NC State — 1:21.23
- California — 1:21.58
- Michigan — 1:21.64
- Kentucky — 1:22.00
Florida finished 2nd, just nine one-hundredths back in 1:20.16, while Texas rounded out the top three in 1:20.46.
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